The Leyden and Stockholm Papyri - University of Cincinnati

THE STOCKHOLM PAPYRUS
direction for the preparation of a chemical salt. Many vegetable
dyes and other organic substances were employed in dyeing the
treated crystal, among which were alkanet, celandine, cedar oil,
pitch, and various resins. In some cases the two operations were
combined in one.
! It is to be remarked that many of the recipes carry various
detailed precautions concerning the processes, showing the presence
of much experience in carrying them out. We may well
question the beauty and the permanency of the imitation gems
prepared by these methods, but probably they satisfied the people
of that period. These methods of imitating precious stones seem to
imply strongly that the manufacture of colored glasses was not a
developed art at the time of this collection and came at a later
period.
! The remainder of the recipes in the collection deal with a subject
which was equally important in ancient times as it is with us,
namely, the methods of dyeing or coloring cloths. The recipes of
this collection and the few of the Leyden Papyrus are the earliest
specific directions for the use of dyes. A glance over the recipes on
this topic shows plainly that the art of dyeing was well understood
from the practical standpoint. The first step in the dyeing process
was the cleaning of the cloth to free it from dirt and grease. The
various cleaning agents employed included native soda, soap weed,
and others. That the importance of mordanting was well recognized
is evident from the many recipes on the subject. The materials
used included alum, limewater, iron and copper compounds, and
some vegetable substances. There is no doubt that the theory of
their use was but faintly understood, but there can be no question
about their understanding of their practical use.
! The dyes used included alkanet, archil, woad, madder, and
other less common ones together with various combinations of
those named. It is evident from the recipes that purple was the
favorite color in ancient Egypt at the time of this collection, but it
is to be remembered, however, that this term then included red and
some other shades also. One thing that the recipes on purple do
show, however, is that the purple of the ancients was not obtained
exclusively from a certain species of shellfish as has been generally
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